


The Name I Gave You

by MagusLibera



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Post-Episode: s08e05 Prochnost, Pre-Episode: s08e06 Purgatory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-10
Updated: 2019-12-10
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:33:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,199
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21743809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MagusLibera/pseuds/MagusLibera
Summary: Oliver sits down with his children (at some point before Laurel tells he and John about Lyla) and tells them about Mia's name and the family that he wanted them to have.
Relationships: Connor Hawke/Mia Smoak, Oliver Queen/Felicity Smoak
Comments: 15
Kudos: 117





	The Name I Gave You

**Author's Note:**

> Two hours of Crisis have aired and my internet is still being stupid so I haven't even watched one! I should get it back tomorrow though, so fingers crossed. No spoilers until I've caught up please!
> 
> I have kind of predicted that by now everyone is probably pretty wrung out by the crossover, so I thought I'd offer some fluff to help you through before the final episode tonight. The only good thing about this internet catastrophe is that I should be able to binge all three when I get it back.

It took longer than Mia cares to admit for her to let her father in. The terror clenching at her heart stopped her from opening up to him, from letting him in, even when it was painfully obvious how desperate he was for them to bond. How much it hurt him each time she flinched away from his touch or pushed him back.

After Russia, when she had finally started to learn about the man her father was and is first hand and had let him see the more vulnerable side of her, for the first time she starts to build the family that she had dreamed of for her whole life. If only her mother could be there too.

She finds herself talking to her dad and William at every available moment which, according to everyone that knows either of the archers, is highly unusual. Neither of them are exactly _talkers_ , that is left more to the other half of their family. Mia may have inherited her mother’s awkward babble, but she certainly developed her father’s emotional range. As both her mother and Hermione would say, it is the same as that of a teaspoon.

But talk they do. When Oliver is cooking for the three of them, when they are eating, when they are sparring, when they are relaxing in their apartment. All. Of. The. Time. And it is wonderful. It is like she is getting to know her father in the way that she always should have been able to, and she finds that she is learning more about her brother too. Things that should have been a given for two siblings are developed during these little chats and Mia realises that, whilst she loves and trusts her brother with everything in her, they have never really just _talked_.

She learns about Oliver’s five years away, the first time that he met her mom, the first time that he told her he loved her, their first date, their summer away together, the first time that he saw William, how difficult the year that he and Felicity were broken up was and how much he regrets not telling her about Will immediately. He talks about his joy when they reunited, when he saw her with William, when they got married. How painful their separation was whilst he was in prison, the relief of coming home to her and bringing Will back, how happy he was when he found out about the pregnancy and when they moved away together even as his heart was broken over William leaving. The way his eyes light up as he speaks of her birth and their few short months together is beautiful.

All of this is interspersed with stories of the Vigilante, the Hood, the Arrow and eventually the Green Arrow but those are tales that she has heard before, she has never heard about their family in this way before. The few times that Felicity did speak of the personal, emotional side of things, it was clear how painful it was for her so Mia eventually learnt to stop asking.

Mia reciprocates by telling her father about her childhood. Telling him about the Felicity Smoak Queen that she knew – so drastically different from the Felicity that he speaks of that his heart almost visibly breaks all over again right in front of her – and the training with Nyssa. Moving to Star City and meeting Will and saving their mom and then losing her just when they were starting to understand one another before starting their own team. As much as she wants her dad to know about her, about her life, she tries everything that she can to keep him talking instead, soaking up any new information that she can.

William chimes in with his own stories. For the first time, Mia hears about his life with his first mom, Samantha, and how his relationships with their parents developed after her death. He talks about the summer in Hope Springs with Felicity and the painful years to follow. Missing his family, feeling abandoned, struggling to thrive in an environment where he felt that he could not be honest about who he was whilst with his grandparents.

During these talks, Mia finally realises just how much love is held within their little family of four, and the few aunts and uncles that they acknowledge. Oliver awkwardly tries to find out about each of their relationship statuses a few times. He looks terrified of hearing something that he most definitely does not want to, of finding out that his baby girl is with someone, but his eagerness for grandchildren is also apparent. Mia thinks that they might let him down on that front. William does not want kids and she is still far too angry at Connor to even consider it. They are far too young anyway.

*************************

One night, Oliver sits biting his lip, worrying it as he mulls something over in his brain. William asks him what is wrong, trying to prompt him to talk about whatever is on his mind. For another beat, he sits in the exact same position before turning to Mia “Did your mom ever tell you about your name?”

“Um… yeah, I guess… She told me that you were the one who chose it.”

“Did she tell you why I chose Mia?”

“No. I don’t know. I always assumed that it was just because you liked it. Mom always used to say it was a sweet and fiery name for a sweet and fiery girl like me. Clearly, she was wrong about the sweet thing.”

“We will have to agree to disagree there.” Oliver smiles, “But no, that is not why I chose it. I mean, of course I love the name. I would never have suggested it if I didn’t, but that is not why I chose it.”

He takes a deep breath, eyes not leaving Mia, “After your mom told me that she was pregnant, I started to fantasise about you and the life that we would have, our little family. I wondered what gender you would choose, whether you would prefer to play with a computer or a bow or something else entirely, whether you would favour your mother or myself, and in which ways you would take after each of us. I have the answers to a lot of those things now. But, at the time, like any expecting father would, I began my fantasising by dreaming up what name we would call you. Your mother and I always seem to be in sync in moments like that, and it turns out that she was doing the same.

“We were talking about you, your mom was asking me if she was showing yet, even though we had only just found out about the pregnancy.” He rolls his eyes, chuckling good naturedly, “When she told me that she had been brainstorming names. I had a moment of worry, that she would have chosen another name, but then she told me that she had a favourite for a boy. Your name or your little brother’s name would have been Lucas. I guess we never get to have our Lucas now, though.” He trails off for a moment, looking like he is mourning the loss of that hypothetical little boy.

Both Mia and William try to imagine it too, surprising themselves when they feel the pain of their loss in their hearts. How wonderful their lives would have been if their dad had survived. Together, happy, with little siblings to dote on. What never had been. Mia feels William’s hand settle on her shoulder, his arm slung around her affectionately. Silently telling her how glad he is that she is around, in his life.

Oliver clears his throat, “Anyway, I then told your mother that I liked the name Mia and, being the genius that she is, she immediately realised that it is a shortened form of Moira, which was my own mother’s name. She… she died to save your aunt Thea and I. Everything that she _ever_ did was to protect the two of us. I didn’t always agree with her decisions or her actions and I certainly didn’t like the way that she treated your mother, but she was my mom and I loved her and I wanted you to have a little piece of the love that she gave to us and that she would have given to you, too.

“I also loved the name because it reminded me of Thea. Mia, Thea. Mia is also the pseudonym that Thea used when she left Starling after our mother sacrificed herself. And, I know that it’s a little bit of a stretch, but I often liked to imagine that the ‘A’ at the end is a little nod to your Grandma Donna’s name. That way, you get to carry around a piece of all of the most important women you’re related to who you may not always get to see, but who love you all the same.” There are tears in his eyes by the end.

Mia makes sure that her throat is cleared before she speaks, not wanting to betray that she is close to tears, “And my middle name?” she asks.

Oliver smiles again, “That was all your Mom. She insisted that she got to choose your middle name since I chose your first name after we found out you were a girl.”

William perks up, “Wait, what’s your middle name? How can I not know what my own sister’s middle name is?”

“Because I never told you, idiot.” She pushes him, dislodging his arm from her shoulders in her attempt to push back the feelings stirring up inside her. “And for good reason.”

Oliver does not let their play fighting devolve, “I always wanted to do this. William, this is your baby sister,” he talks over Mia’s protest at the ‘baby’ descriptor, “Mia Willa Smoak Queen.”

William freezes, stunned, “Felicity… Felicity named Mia after me?”

“Yeah, Buddy. She wanted her to have a little piece of her big brother with her wherever she went, no matter what.”

“Oh.” Suddenly, William is hugging their dad, “Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me.” Oliver huffs, “It was all Felicity. I just happily agreed.”

“Still.”

Unable to take the emotional tension any more, Mia breaks the silence “You shouldn’t let it get to your head. Mom also wanted to use Olivia but Dad vetoed it.” It makes William and her dad laugh, which fills her with joy.

Something is still worrying through her mind though, “Dad?”

“Yeah, Sweetheart?”

Her heart swells, “You said that Grandma Moira didn’t treat Mom very well. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, that. You know, if the two of them hadn’t disagreed over so many things then they would have made a terrifying team, they never realised how much that had in common. They were both too stubborn for their own goods, you see – your mom still is, as I’m sure you know…” and he tells them the story of their mom and their grandmother.

*************************

That night, as she potters around, getting ready for bed, Mia hears the soft, steady sound of her father’s voice. She was raised by Felicity Smoak, who is famous for her hatred of mysteries, so is incapable of stopping herself from eavesdropping. The tone of his voice makes it clear that he is on the phone to her mom, telling her about their conversation in a choked up voice. He mentions Lucas and apologises to Felicity, telling her how much he wishes he could be there with her. How much he wants to get their son back and make dozens more babies with her because ‘they are just so perfect’.

Lucas, he says, would be their first boy and he tells his wife how very much he wants that to be their reality. How much he will fight to make it so. A huff of laughter escapes him, before he murmurs “You don’t want dozens of babies? What about just the one dozen? No. Eight? Six? Four? Three. Okay, I can live with that. Three more babies. No, Felicity! Three _more_ , not just three. Okay, what if we compromise? Two more, four total. And _a lot_ of practise.” Mia grimaces at _that_. She was spared the thought of her parents and… _that_ what with it just being her and her mother growing up.

Finally, he sobers up and she hears him ask to speak to his ‘little star’ and realises that he is talking to _her_ , the baby version of her with a sickeningly sweet coo. He tells her about William, the big brother that she is named for and how wonderful he is both in twenty-nineteen and in twenty-forty.

A tear that Mia has been holding back for hours slips down her face.

Her resolve hardens. There is _no way_ that she will let him die.

They are going to get the family of their dreams. Whether it is three babies total, three more to add to her and William or the full dozen that her dad wants, they are going to be happy.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that this made some of you happy. I chose Willa because I wanted Olicity to have done something that would make it clear just how much they thought of William after he left and that name is literally right there for the taking, so I took it.
> 
> Any mistakes are on me, I don't have a beta so some things can slip through.
> 
> I'm on Twitter [@MagusLibera](https://twitter.com/MagusLibera).


End file.
